VCSE Travel and Tourism
VCSE Travel and Tourism is heavy on literacy: learners read and compare sources, write a destination fact file, a trip proposal, an itinerary and marketing materials using persuasive language tailored to an audience, present their trip and answer questions, and write a reflection on their own performance. Numeracy is lighter but real, with the Unit 1 sector test asking learners to extract information, spot trends and make calculations from Welsh tourism data, and Unit 3 needing a trip budget, costings, a schedule and a feedback survey whose responses are collated. The single biggest thing KS3 should build is persuasive, well-structured writing for a named audience, backed by accurate facts and simple costings.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Medium
- Specification
- Open the specification
- Step before
- Foundation Travel and Tourism, Entry Level and Level 1
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Introduction to the Travel and Tourism Industry: External assessment (sector test) 1 hour, 50 marks, 20%, set and marked by WJEC, paper-based or onscreen
- Unit 2: Tourist Destinations: External non-examination assessment 6 hours (plus 2 hours of research beforehand), three tasks based on an assignment brief that changes every year, 50 marks, 20%, set and marked by WJEC
- Unit 3: Travel and Tourism in Action: Non-examination assessment 15 hours, five tasks based on an assignment brief, 90 marks, 60%, set by WJEC, marked by the centre and externally moderated by WJEC
Skills that use Purpose
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Presenting a trip and responding to questions
In Unit 3 learners communicate their trip and itinerary, giving an overview, aims and key information such as date, cost, accommodation and activities. They must respond to questions about the trip, and presentations are recorded on observation records.
Literacy: Purpose, Clarity and vocabulary, Questioning, Collaborative talk
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils give a one-minute talk to the class on their favourite place in Wales and answer one question from the audience.
- Year 8
- In role as travel agents, pupils present a weekend break to a small group playing customers, then answer their questions on cost and activities without reading from notes.
- Year 9
- Pupils present a planned school trip to a panel of staff or older pupils, cover the aims, dates, costs and activities, and handle follow-up questions they have not seen in advance.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, Section 3.3.4, page 29; Section 3.3, page 34; Appendix A, page 40
“responding to questions about the trip”
Progression step 3
I can organise talk so that different audiences in different contexts can follow what is being said, including using formal language.
I can speak clearly, recognising the appropriate language for different audiences and purposes, and varying my expression, vocabulary, tone and gestures to engage the audience.
I can ask and answer questions, building on and developing the ideas of others in group discussions.
Progression step 4
I can speak clearly, selecting and adapting my language appropriately for a range of audiences and purposes, conveying meaning effectively to the audience.
I can organise talk effectively to respond to how listeners are reacting by adapting what I say and how I say it.
I can respond to others' points of view with confidence and sensitivity, summarising and evaluating what I have heard, read or seen.
Progression step 5
I can present ideas and issues to meet the demands of different audiences.
I can respond confidently to how listeners react, adapting my language in a wide range of contexts and for different purposes.
I can respond to others' points of view using a range of techniques, e.g. rhetorical questions, gestures.
Good to know
- Written NEA evidence can be handwritten: Unit 2 'must be submitted digitally, either as scanned handwritten responses or completed digitally.' (page 32).
- Spoken work is assessed through observation: 'performance evidence (for example, presentations) must be documented using observation records' (page 34).
- Learners get a research window before Unit 2: 'A further two hours should be scheduled for research prior to the completion of tasks.' (page 32).
- Teachers may not coach the writing during NEA: 'Teachers may clarify task requirements but must not provide feedback on the evidence being produced.' (page 34).
- Appendix A maps Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing to all or almost all sections of every unit, but maps no section to geometry and measurement (pages 39 and 40).
- The specification does not say whether a calculator may be used in the Unit 1 sector test, which includes 'make calculations using a range of data' (Unit 1, Section 1.3.3, page 19).
Links with other qualifications
Climate graphs, places and tourism impacts overlap with GCSE Geography, persuasive marketing and budgeting overlap with GCSE Business, and the trip budget and timetable work draws on Mathematics, so KS3 departments could share one model of a costed, persuasive trip plan.
Source: WJEC Level 1/Level 2 VCSE Travel and Tourism specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027, for award from 2029 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).